Dunkin Donuts...Get Your Heads Outta Your Asses!

Okay, it's a double-post kind of day, because it was an eye-rolling kind of morning.

In celebration of The First Day of School (and first day of high school for my son), I took the kiddies to Dunkin Donuts before school.  As we perused the menu, I noticed the most assinine menu choices you could possibly imagine.  All thier "food" items are LOW FAT.  So, here ya go...have some unnatural foods like reduced-fat muffins (with tons of carbs by way of sugar and flour...which are what make you fat and not actual fat itself) and some nice sugared-up coffee (which makes you fat).  Have some egg-whites on a croissant, NEVER MIND that egg yolks DON'T MAKE YOU FAT but the CROISSANT DOES! 

Dunkin Donuts, really?

Hello, Monday! { and Weekend Recap }

The weekend was truly lovely.  Todd and i met and spent some time with a group of absolutely wonderful folks who made us laugh and think and feel hopeful that the world is indeed evolving { and that is so much nicer than simply revolving }.  Have you ever just instantly felt comfortable with a group of people and so you let yourself just...be yourself?  I felt that way.  I think Todd did, too, considering he just lay down on the floor a couple times { this cracked me up }.

School starts today for my two oldest kiddos.  We finished their school shopping this weekend (at least until they bring home The List of supplies that varies by teacher).  I have two kids in high school.  Weird.  I have one more year at home with Brycey and as much as i say i can't wait until he starts the big K, i know i'll be one of those silly bawling moms who hovers outside the classroom door on the first day.  Sigh.  I'm going to just enjoy every second of this year with my monkey-boy.

I'm going to call my mom a little later and resist the urge to tell her there's a 20x24 framed portrait of Bryce on it's way to her.  I suck at surprises; i always give them up.  The print's arriving Tuesday.  I think i can hold my tongue that long.  { i think i can.  i think i can. }  Now just to get Allie and Zane in front of the camera...no easy task.

This week is chock-full of much-anticipated events.  School today, haircuts tomorrow (gah, why did my hair girl have to move so far away?), a fun new item for our studio arriving Thursday (which means i'm going to need a test subject), a little surgical procedure for Todd on Thursday, R&R on Friday and a bit more of the same for the weekend, along with meeting more new peeps. 

Life is good.  I hope your week is filled with delicious things!

Oh HUH UH No! { and The World at Large }

In September ima be in the city where Isaac Brock lives, but he won't be there because Modest Mouse is on tour.  You may not see me for days.  I'm going away to sulk now.



The World at Large

Ice-age heat wave, can't complain
If the world's at large, why should I remain?
Walked away to another plane
Going to find another place, maybe one I can stand
I move on to another day
To a whole new town with a whole new way
Went to the porch to have a thought
Got to the door and again, I couldn't stop
You don't know where and you don't know when
But you still got your words and you got your friends
Walk along to another day
Work a little harder, work another way
Well, uh-uh, baby, I ain't got no plan
Well I float on maybe would you understand?
Going to float on maybe would you understand?
Well, float on maybe would you understand?

The days get shorter and the nights get cold
I like the autumn but this place is getting old
I pack up my belongings and I head for the coast
It might not be a lot but I feel like I'm making the most
The days get longer and the nights smell green
I guess it's not surprising but it's spring and I should leave

I like songs about drifters, books about the same
They both seem to make me feel a little less insane
Walked on off to another spot
I still haven't gotten anywhere that I want
Did I want love, did I need to know?
Why does it always feel like I'm caught in an undertow?

The moths beat themselves to death against the lights
Adding their breeze to the summer nights
Outside, water like air was great
I didn't know what I had that day
Walk a little farther to another plan
You said that you did, but you didn't understand

I know that starting over is not what life's about
But my thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth
My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth
My thoughts were so loud

And that, my friends, is FREAKING GENIUS!

A Day in the Life

Every so often, i like to list out my day.  I used to do it in my written journals, but since i haven't written on paper (other than grocery lists) in just about forever, i thought i would do it here.  I like looking back on these things and comparing.  It's a good way to see if i'm heading in the right direction. 

So, right now, my days kinda look like this:

• Eyes pop open between 5 and 6 a.m. 
• I look over at Bryce, note the shape of his nose, how peaceful he looks sleeping (yes, still in our bed; i'm so not ready to let that go)
• I snuggle up next to Todd
• We turn on NBC news (because i love The Today Show, which comes on at 7)
• We talk about the day or whatever's on our minds
• We weigh ourselves and somtimes check body fat percentages
• Todd gets ready for work while i head to the computer to check email and sometimes blog
• If it's a running day, i force water down and do a 2-4 mile run (current pace ~9:35 mile) and sometimes lift weights
• If i have a JDRF ODST email assignment that day, i answer it immediately (i don't like to keep people waiting for answers to their questions about type 1 diabetes, especially those having a hard time with it)
• I check message boards or Facebook (no Fb today; decompressing)
• Work (editing photos or revamping something in the studio, usually)
• I wait for Bryce to wake up, then we read books together
• After books, Bryce watches toons while i clean the kitchen (i rarely do it at night; i hate doing it then)
• Bryce has breakfast, sometimes i do too.
• Allie and Zane sleep in like the teens they are...i'll see them in the afternoon (enjoy it, kiddos! skool starts in less than a week!)
• Bryce and i play Candyland and other games until i think i'll go bonkers and i tell him it's time to go play while i...
• ...read or work on a project (which is currently completely revamping our photog biz and working on a plan to move to Virginia; i'm really missing my mom lately--we're finally in a good place together, knock on wood, haha) or search the internet for the latest in Hello Kitty
• Lunch falls in there somewhere...we never have set times for eating; we eat when we're hungry
• Run errands with or without kids; sometimes fun things
• Todd gets home (which is usually pretty late in summer) and gets cleaned up
• We talk about our days; he always has a weird or funny story
• We often hang out in our bedroom closet, which has become our sitting room and has entertaining things in there (our weights are also in there).  Bwahahahahaha!  (Todd, i know this will crack us up in the future)
• Dinner (which Todd usually cooks, since we do mostly protein and i'm not a cooker of meats) and hanging with the fam
• Shoot a photo session, if scheduled
• Occasionaly let Allie drive us around (which is getting less scary)
• We try to watch some t.v.; had gotten out of tv for a while, but i find it very amusing and entertaining (much to the annoyance of tv snobs everywhere).   Our fave shows:  Lie to Me, Pushing Daisies, Dexter, Weeds, all those dance shows (Todd watches more just to hang out with me, i think), or we watch a movie (up next:  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)
• Private time
• Sleep
• Weird dreams; in the last, i was in Baghdad and was observing 3 women, one of whom took a crap in the middle of an alley.  i won't go into detail...tmi even for me and it was my dream.
• We do the hokey pokey and we turn ourselves around.  That's what it's all about.

Why I Miss Japan { and Newsflash }

For realzes, nothing is boring in Japan.  There's something to ignite the imagination at every turn.  Even the vending machines there fascinated me, and they didn't even have THESE when i lived there:

and besides all the man-made wonders of Japan, the { insert your belief-word here, i.e. "God-made" "nature-made" "Big-Bang-made" } are breathtakingly wondrous as well.  I miss the dense forests and coasts of Japan and the interesting flora.  I miss the hot springs.  I miss the brilliant colors of fall (very similar to New England's glam show) and the smell of mountain air.  I even miss the Osorezan (which i might be misspelling)--the sulphur lake where many believe the spirits of dead children dwell.

And here's the newsflash (which isn't a newsflash at all for those of you who actually know me {and some of the readers i've never met in person know me far better than some of my professed friends}):  Arizona is ugly to me.  Brown brown brown and brittle scrub everywhere i look is ugly to me. If you think Arizona is beautiful and you love it here, then great!  You're in the right place for you.  But i miss trees...big ones!  I miss canopies of leaves that come as unfolding green explosions in spring, shade me through humid summers, romance me with redyelloworange canvases in the fall and lie waiting on the ground in winter for me to satisfyingly crunch underfoot..  People are different and have different interests and tastes.  That's really not so hard to understand, is it?  Nope.  And if you're wondering what the hell this part of the post is really about, it behooved someone this week to tell me that my opinion of Arizona is wrong, that his is right (he's always right, mind you) and i'm simply "refusing" to see how beautiful it is.  Really?  This is not the year to tell me how to live, try to take away my "agency" or tell me what to think, people!  Really!  And this concludes my bout of getting annoyed at people.  From now on, i'm simply ignoring it.  Life is far too short to expend energy on that!

Just When You Think It Can't Get Any Better

Okay, i know, i know i know i know.  i've said it 400 times (this week alone) and i just have to say it again.  This man is the shizzle!  He cracks me up, he's weird as hell (Dev, you were right, thank goodness!), and i can't imagine living life without him.  Todd, i love hanging out in the closet with you and i love the private jokes we share.  i love the way you think and that i can say ANYTHING to you and know you're not gonna judge me--do you know how rare that is?  i seriously think you're the ONLY person i've ever truly been able to be completely myself with.  Do you know how freaking awesome that is?  i would not trade you, baby, not even for Andrew VanWyngarden or a vat full of Modest Mouse. 

Jane Austen Fight Club

You're Not Supposed to Know This

Am i the only one who thinks it's weird that the LDS Church's take on the fact that the papyrus from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Abraham turned out to actually be Egyptian burial procedures (The Book of Breathings) is that the Book of Abraham isn't that important to Church members anyway?  Huh? The Book of Abraham isn't that important to Church members?  Wow, weird diversion technique, but i guess they have to use something.

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/57738/The-Book-of-Abraham-The-larger-issue.html


And am i the only one who was heartbroken when i found out Joseph Smith had married 11 women who were still married to their own living husbands (who were conveniently sent out on missions)?  I was heartbroken!  No wonder it's not talked about in Church meetings!  There would be tears and all sorts of insane justifications.  Or, it would just be looked over and ignored because the Church will never lead you wrong, so there must be "some reason we will only understand in the next life." 

http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/

STILL think JS didn't practice polygamy (or treasure hunt or do any of the other wacky things denied by good members)?  Find out from Deseret Book for yourself:
http://deseretbook.com/Joseph-Smith-Rough-Stone-Rolling-Richard-L-Bushman/i/4983110

There is nothing "anti-Mormon" in the things i've just written.  You can check the links yourself, don't worry, you won't get in trouble--it's not anti-Mormon literature.  But if these things made you feel uneasy, you might want to ask yourself "WHY?"  If you got defensive when reading those things, or had to remind yourself that the Church is true, or felt a sudden need to bear your testimony, you might want to ask yourself "WHY?" 

If those things don't bother you, GREAT!  You're in the right place for you.  But they bother me.  A lot. 

And thank you to a dear friend who sent me a chatising email letter this week.  That forced me to take a good, honest look at what I believe.  I can no longer choose to "ignore in faith" all the things that made me question the Church in the past.  Honestly, i didn't care whether they were true or not, because the Church does a lot of good in the world and it filled a lot of the empty spots left over from my broken childhood.  But now i do.  I care.

P.S.  If the things i've written here make you uneasy, feel free to accuse me of being led by Satan.  That will make you feel better.